TV advertising commercials exist in virtually all video data streams, subsidizing some or all of the cost of providing the content to the viewer. The ability to identify where the commercials exist in the video data stream has become an important goal for two main reasons. First, advertisers who pay to place the commercials wish to verify that the commercials were actually played, either by being “aired” during a broadcast, or “streamed” during an internet-based viewing session. The auditing process can be greatly enhanced if commercials can be identified as they are being played so that there can be a recordation to document the airing or streaming. Second, technology built into a video playing device, or executing concurrently with a video playing device, can “skip” commercials, assuming that the location of the commercials can be accurately identified so that no programming is skipped. Some conventional technology for identifying where commercials exist in a video data stream is described in an article entitled “Automatic Detection of TV Commercials” (Satterwhite, B.; Marques, O.; Potentials, IEEE, Volume 23, Issue 2, April-May 2004 pp. 9-12). Satterwhite et al. describes two main categories of methods for detecting commercials, namely, “feature-based detection” and “recognition-based detection.” Feature-based detection uses general characteristics of commercials embedded within a media stream to detect their possible presence. Recognition-based detection works by trying to match commercials with ones that were already learned. Some general characteristics (heuristics) of commercials and commercial breaks include the following:
i. Multiple frames of black are displayed at the beginning and end of each commercial block and between each commercial in the block. There is no audio during these frames.
ii. If a network displays a logo in the corner of the screen, the logo will not appear during the commercials.
iii. Duration is typically some increment of 15 seconds, up to 90 seconds.
iv. Commercials are high in “action,” measured by a relatively larger number of cuts per minute between frames compared to a TV show.
v. Commercial breaks tend to occur at the same time in each episode of a given TV series.
The conventional technology for identifying where commercials exist in a video data stream have numerous disadvantages which limit their effectiveness. Accordingly, there is a need for new approaches for identifying where commercials exist in a video data stream. The present invention fulfills such a need.
There are also instances where it is desirable to identify “repeating content” in video data streams. The present invention also fulfills this need.